Legal framework for adoption in Québec

Most integrated health and social services centres (CISSSs) and integrated university health and social services centres (CIUSSSs) offer services related to the operation of a child and youth protection centre (CPEJ). This service offer is governed by the Act respecting health services and social services (AHSSS) and the Youth Protection Act (YPA), which assign adoption responsibilities to institutions, the Director of Youth Protection (DYP) and the Minister of Health and Social Services (MSSS).

Under the YPA, the DYP has a primary responsibility to protect the child whose safety or development is or may be compromised. The DYP also has obligations and responsibilities with respect to adoption.

A person domiciled in Québec who wishes to adopt a child who is also domiciled in Québec must contact the DYP.

The registration process for people who wish to adopt a child begins with a call to the service responsible for adoption in the CISSS or CIUSSS in their region.

The steps of the process are as follows:

When they first contact the service, adoption applicants are given all the information relevant to the plan, in accordance with the information mechanism set up by each institution (telephone interview, information session).

They are then invited to submit their application. A pre‑selection interview and awareness‑raising sessions may follow, once again depending on the service pathway established by the CISSS or the CIUSSS.

To become an adoption applicant, the following criteria must be met:

Legal criteria:

• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

Clinical criteria:

• be 18 years of age or older;
• have a stable marital status for at least two years, either living together for couples or living alone for single people;
• respect the required minimum interval of 12 months between the arrival of two children;
• not have a criminal record related to the function;
• not have a history of parental incapacity involving a child placed with them or who has been placed for these reasons;
• be able to ensure the child’s material security;
• be in good physical and mental health;
• provide a physical environment that complies with the standards of the MSSS’s reference framework for intermediate resources and family‑type resources.

When applicants register with the adoption service, they can register for two types of plan simultaneously, namely:

• a regular adoption plan;
• a mixed bank foster family plan.

Applicants can register for both types of adoption plan simultaneously, which maximizes the chances of an optimal match between a child and an applicant, depending on the type of adoption plan.

Adopters are registered in separate banks for each plan.

Applicants must wait a minimum of 12 months after a child’s arrival in an environment before registering for a new plan. A child needs this time to acclimatize and integrate into their new family environment. Although applicants can be registered for two simultaneous plans, the wait time must be respected.

A psychosocial assessment is mandatory for all applications.

Applicants’ parenting skills, ability to meet a child’s needs and motives must be assessed. The objective of the assessment is to choose suitable people to adopt a child. The psychosocial assessment that is done after registration must be in keeping with the adoption plan chosen (regular adoption or mixed bank foster family). Registering for two adoption plans does not guarantee that both plans will be accepted. Wait times vary depending on the region of Québec. In addition, they are generally longer for regular adoption.

The recommendation following the psychosocial assessment must be positive for the adoption process to go forward.

Matching refers to the process of matching a child who is adoptable or who could become adoptable with one or more applicants who have been assessed and accepted based on the child’s characteristics. There may be some differences in the matching processes across institutions. However, they are guided by the child’s interest and needs, whether they are a newborn or older.

The integration of a child into a new living environment, whether adoptive or mixed bank, has common elements:

• preparation of the child;
• preparation of the adoptive family or the mixed bank foster family.

The goal of placement is to create emotional security for the child, which they will demonstrate through secure behaviour.

Placement of the child in their new living environment is an important step for them and their adoptive parents. It requires ongoing support by the case worker.

The first follow‑up meeting takes place in the home. It must be scheduled in the days following the child’s placement.

Subsequent meetings are held based on the plan (regular adoption or mixed bank foster family). In the weeks following the child’s integration into the family, the aim of follow‑up is to ensure the child’s integration and to support the family in its new role.

The first step in the legal process for adoption is to make the child eligible for adoption for each of their two parent‑child relationships, whether the eligibility for adoption is legal or consensual. For example, when consent is signed for a child who is not under the DYP’s care, both legal parents must consent. Otherwise, the DYP cannot move forward with the plan.

From the time the child becomes eligible for adoption until the placement order, the parties have the possibility of reaching an agreement to facilitate the exchange of information or interpersonal relations.

The second step in the legal process is the placement order for adoption. At this stage, the DYP gives an opinion as to whether it is in the interest of the child to be adopted with or without recognition of the pre‑existing bond of filiation. A placement order allows the child to exercise their civil rights under their new surname and first name and confers the exercise of parental authority over the child on the adopters. It also allows the court to assign to the child “a name composed of at most two parts from those that form the name of the adopter or the names of their father and mother with whom there is recognition of the pre‑existing bond of filiation”.

Finally, the third step is the adoption decree, the completion of the adoption plan. This decree confers on the adopted child a parentage that succeeds the pre‑existing parentage.